List of of the activities

– 15 January:

* Statutory meeting with reading of the annual report (F. Nolf) and discussion of the strategy for the meetings in 2018;

* First impressions after the trip to Taiwan and Japan (Steve Hubrecht);

* Some videos on YouTube;

* A first acquaintance with the CASSIDAE-book by G. Verbinnen et al, on the basis of specimens from the collection of Luc Segers (F. Nolf);

* Comments on the iBook of Guido Poppe (‘Collecting Shells in times of internet’)

* New Year’s reception with sparkling wine and snacks (Mrs. Nolf).

– 19 February:

* Important decisions to be made regarding the website (F. Nolf);

* Presentation of remarkable shells (very large specimens, deformations, shells with a story, …);

* Movies on YouTube;

* The CASSIDAE family: attention for some special specimens and questionable species (F. Nolf);

* In-depth discussion about G. Poppe’s iBook.

– 19 March:

* Determination of TEREBRIDAE, with special attention to T. fenestrata, T. amanda and South African species (Yves Terryn);

* A short film about the activities at Conchology, Inc. (G. Poppe);

* The CASSIDAE family: pro and contra of the book by G. Verbinnen et al ;

* Looking back at the Shell Show in Paris;

* Short items: results of excursions at De Panne and Ostend (F. Nolf).

– 23 April:

* Slides of journeys from a distant past (South Africa – Hendrik White, Canary Islands and Brittany – F. Nolf);

* YouTube movies;

* First report of the trip to São Tomé (Steve Hubrecht);

– 14 May:

* Lecture by Steve Hubrecht about his trip to Japan and Taiwan;

* A series of slides about living molluscs in South Africa (Hendrik White);

* Presentation of the ‘De Boe’ collection by means of a digital slide report.

– 18 June:

* Set up of the calendar for the meetings in the second semester;

* Review of the Shell Show in Antwerp;

* New insights into the systematics of PLEUROTOMARIIDAE as a result of DNA research (Patrick Anseeuw);

* Inspection of newly published books and journal issues (Steve Hubrecht);

* Slide reportage of the trip to St Martin (Dirk Nolf);

* Acquaintance with the real Latirus tigroides Kilburn, 1975;

* Presentation of a fast and perfect conversion of classic slides and photos to digitized images.

– 20 August:

* A new study on endemic Conus species from Senegal (Johan Verstraeten);

* Slides and videos from the past (F. Nolf);

* Do activity: arranging the collection of CASSIDAE (F. Nolf) into the drawers of a shell cabinet by using genus and species names;

* Discussion session: how do we deal with all ‘name changes’ (internet, WoRMS, literature) and what are the consequences of DNA research on the organization of our collections?

– 17 September:

* The Polyplacophora of St Martin (PowerPoint presentation by F. Nolf);

* A first look at a new issue of ‘Neptunea‘;

* A sample of 75 Strombus pugilis specimens snorkeled on St Martin one month before the disaster with Hurricane Irma;

* Trigonostoma gofasi Verhecken, 2007 and the junior synonym T. damasoi Cossignani, 2015 (F. Nolf).

– 9 October:

* Guido Poppe on visit;

* Impressions after the shell fair in Öhringen;

* The Listing V1.0 (a list with adjustment of names in Philippine Marine Mollusks 1-5 (G. Poppe) with further discussion about name changes and influence on the organization of collections;

* Digitized slides from the old box, including shells as bycatch from the North Sea fishery (F. Nolf);

* The start of the new version of the website and all the problems associated with it: a first look at the website in construction (F. Nolf and granddaughter Delphine Clement as webmaster).

– 19 November:

* Visit of our friends from the Kempen (Gilbert Verbinnen and Luc Segers) and Limburg (Frank Swinnen);

* Digital photos of the Shell Show in London and a visit to the English south coast (Yves Terryn);

* The renovation of the website in an advanced stage;

* First report of the trip to the Cape Verde Islands (Steve Hubrecht, Rika Goethaels and Fernand De Donder);

* Presentation of new books and issues of periodicals, in particular our own magazine, Neptunea, 14 (2);

* The last steps in the research of the Congolese-Angolan Cymbium species (F. Nolf) (paper in preparation).

– 17 December:

* The genus Cymbium in Angolan waters and presentation of a new species: extensive PowerPoint presentation by F. Nolf;

* Set up of the calendar for the meetings in the first semester of 2018;

* Drawing up a series of topics that can be worked out as agenda items for the next meetings;

* Interesting papers published in the autumn of 2017 followed by comments;

* Spectacular images of the devastation on the island of St Martin by Hurricane Irma: the situation immediately after the disaster and the current situation (Patricia Nolf).